Change is a Constant
by dracogryff
Summary: The story of a young girl named Lizzie who sets out on her Pokémon journey despite familial opposition. She starts out with confidence, but quickly discovers she still has a lot to learn. PG-13 for mild violence. Chapters 1 and 2 revised, Chapter 3 up!
1. Everything Starts Somewhere

I thank you for being willing to at least give my silly little story a try. It's something I have tried writing at least three times now, but this is the first time I've tried posting it anywhere other than on my own personal webspace. It's rated PG-13 partially as a precaution, because I'm not one to go into detail about bloody scenes, but Pokémon DO get hurt fighting each other. Sometimes badly. And sometimes the Pokémon can hurt people too. So, while I won't go out of my way to depict a gory battle, by the same token I won't hide reality behind a shiny-happy varnish or somesuch.

In any case, this is a story about self-discovery, growing up, coming to understand the world and make ones own way in it, and Pokémon, of course. A young girl sets out on the League challenge to find her own path in life, because the one her parents have chosen just doesn't work. Her name is Lizzie, and she sets out to find out about herself, and her Pokémon. Much like any other young trainer. I apologize for the rather poor summary, but I am really bad at doing summaries. Hopefully the story will speak for itself. Anyhow, that leaves me one more thing to do.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, I wouldn't be wasting my time with writing fanfictions. The franchise belongs to Nintendo, WB, GameFreak inc., Creatures inc. and their creator, Tajiri Satoshi. And probably quite a few other people I don't know about. I do however, own the original characters in this story, Lizzie and Cameron in particular, and their Pokémon's personalities. Take them without asking and I'll…do something. Something that's not nice. Rar.

That out of the way, let us begin the story.

Chapter 1: Everyone has to Start Somewhere

Snow fell gently, blanketing the sleeping city in a soft white coat. Even the weather was getting into the festive spirit, it seemed. With Christmas only a week away, and the snow just a gentle fall, it wasn't likely to bury the houses, just make everything white. It was a magical time, Christmas. Children were asleep, dreaming of that fast approaching day, of the presents and candy and laughter. Of time spent with family and friends exchanging what they had gotten for each other.

Well, most of them were, anyhow.

One light was on, and a young girl stared out at the snow, lost in thoughts decidedly un-merry. She was just a month over twelve, and her thoughts on Christmas were more that she wished it all would go away. Odd, that. She was somewhat short for her age, barely making four feet. She had the slim, athletic build of an active individual. Her hair was a dark blue-black, and fell nearly halfway down her back, her eyes a piercing emerald green. Her name was Elizabeth Ellen Gimble. But she usually preferred to be called Lizzie.

"…Bah humbug." She turned away from the window and grabbed up a brush, yanking it almost savagely through her hair. It was quickly pulled back into a ponytail, out of the way. "I hate Christmas."

She paused, considering her own words. Christmas was the magical time of the year, when wishes and dreams came true, and there was joy and friendship…Lizzie shook her head. The first assessment was better. "Bah humbug…I think." Mostly. If it really were all that magical, why wasn't her wish granted? Why couldn't she have her dreams come true? She flipped the light switch off, glaring out the window at the snow. Her parents never understood. They'd told her for over two years now that she could go soon. Next week, next month, after the holidays…always later, never now.

She stalked over to the window and yanked it open. The snow was still falling. She stared at the sky for several minutes, and sighed. No stars. "Star light, star bright…phooey!" She pulled back into her room, then paused. And leaned out again.

That tree was awfully close…maybe…

Liz grinned and shut the window. "Later…how about tomorrow?"

Lizzie paused outside the door, listening. "Elizabeth…if you don't get down here we're going to have breakfast without you..." Mom. There was a male voice that she couldn't make out, and a happy squeal. That meant her dad and her little sister were around too. She glanced down the road, almost tempted to not let them know…but then they'd have cops out hunting for her, or something worse.

She didn't want them thinking she'd gotten kidnapped or something. So, here she was. She shifted her grip on her squirming armful and freed one hand to knock on the door. _Here goes…_

She heard her mother muttering something else, and then the door swung open. She and her father stared at each other for a long moment. "I…" Lizzie swallowed. Everything she'd planned to say went fluttering away with the breeze.

"Who is it, dear?" Her mother approached, and her father shook off his bemusement.

"…Lizzie." He started to frown at her, obviously preparing to launch into one of those 'fatherly lectures.'

"How..?" Her mother peered around him as Bethany squeezed between the two of them, took one look at her sister, and squealed, reaching for the bundle of brown fur that Lizzie was clutching like a lifeline.

This broke the deadlock, and her mother and father spent a few moments shooing the six-year old back into the house. Lizzie skittered backwards, halting on the bottom step of the porch while they were occupied with her sister, and as soon as they turned their attention back to her, she blurted out, "I don't care what you say, but I'm not gonna wait any longer! It's been over two years…"

"Elizabeth Ellen Gimble!" Her mother cut her short, and she winced. "What are you doing, sneaking out of the house at got knows what hour of the night..!"

"Seven-thirty…"

"What?"

"This morning. Seven-thirty. Not last night." Lizzie stared down at her boots, wishing she'd not just said that. Stupid. She should have just left instead of trying to talk to them. Maybe sent them a note…

"That doesn't matter…what is that?!" Her mother had apparently only just taken stock of the brown bundle of Lizzie's.

It glared right back at her. "Eevee." Then it began to struggle, trying to get down.

"S'a Pokémon…" Lizzie backed up a pace, not meeting her parent's gaze.

"You know the rules, young lady…" This was from her father, as he folded his arms across his chest. Lizzie looked up, eyes blazing.

"Yeah, but what if I don't wanna be a lady?! What if I wanna go and run around wild and get dirty?!" She didn't give him a chance to continue. She backed away a few more steps, turning sideways as if to protect the Pokémon from them. For the first time, they noticed she had a backpack on. "I'm tired of waiting for it to be later! I'm going now! G'bye!" And she ran.

"Lizzie..!" Lizzie heard her mother's cry, but she didn't stop running. She pulled up outside of town though, to catch her breath.

"Eevee." Lizzie blinked, remembering the Pokémon abruptly. It, well, she was an Eevee, though a bit small for the average, being around nine inches total. _Not unlike myself,_ she thought wryly. The eyes were nearly the same shade of dark chocolate brown as her fur, save for the thick ruff of pure white around her neck. Those brown eyes were staring up at her, an expression of irritated patience quite visible.

Lizzie sighed. So much for plans…not even her starting Pokémon liked her. _Maybe I should have listened to Bonnor…_

Lizzie glanced up and down the street, almost furtively, then took a deep breath and darted over to the front porch of a house. This house was much the same as her own in outward appearance, two-storied, brick and with a lived in feel. However, there was only one human resident at this house, and the yard was much larger. And she felt like she was more welcome here than at home.

This was the residence of a good friend of hers, Bonnor Durgan. He'd been a Pokémon Trainer, but he'd settled in town to become a Pokémon breeder. He'd also promised her a Pokémon to start with on her tenth birthday, whenever she started on her journey. He was the only one around her that encouraged her in her dreams. He was also the cause of it, though he didn't know that.

He had moved into the town six years ago, right about a month after her sister had been born. He came riding in on his Arcanine, Kindle, right past their house. His house was just a block and a half away from their own, and Lizzie had quickly become good friends with him. Her parents had been horrified. They had a few too many ideas about 'proper behavior for young ladies' and taking care of a bunch of animals was not one of them. Certainly it wasn't 'proper' to go cavorting about the countryside battling with a small pack of them.

Lizzie had been adamant though, and thus came the waiting game. She was pretty sure her parents believed – hoped, more accurately – that this was merely some phase she was going through. But it wasn't, and that was why she was here, standing on Bonnor's porch.

She shook her head and knocked on the door. Why bother worrying about it now? She was fixing the problem.

"Just a moment..!" Lizzie heard a faint scuffle, a sharp yip from something, then a yelp from Bonnor…then silence. She blinked. What..?

Bonnor pulled the door open and blinked at her. "G'morning…get in quick, please." He looked almost frazzled and Lizzie complied, blinking.

"…Bad time..?" She stared at her friend. He was usually a good deal neater; his auburn hair neatly brushed and pulled into a low ponytail, not hanging loose on his shoulders. His green-gray eyes betrayed his tiredness and faint irritation. He was probably in his mid-thirties, and had the strong, weathered build of one who worked outdoors a great deal, and worked hard. He shut the door, then set down a brown furball with exaggerated care. The sort of exaggerated care that someone uses when they wish they could throw whatever it was at something.

"Not exactly…what brings you here so early?" Bonnor turned back to Lizzie, to find himself talking to air. Lizzie had dropped down to get a better look at the Pokémon he'd been carrying. An Eevee.

"It's so cute!" She reached out to pet the Pokémon, but paused at the Pokémon turned a baleful gaze upon her. "Not friendly, though, I take it?"

Bonnor rolled his eyes. "She's rather put out because I just caught her last night. Trying to steal supper. My supper, that is." The Pokémon snorted, glancing up at Bonnor. "I don't know how she got in, though." He sighed. "But that's neither here nor there. What's up?"

"Wanted to get a Pokémon, like you promised on my birthday." Lizzie answered absently, leaving her hand where it was, an inch or two away from the Eevee. The Pokémon eyed it, then her, then back to the hand. Lizzie giggled. It was almost as if the Eevee was trying to fathom the girl's continued interest after she had clearly made it plain she wanted nothing to do with humans. "Hello there..."

"Ve." The Eevee sniffed, nose poking into the air haughtily. Bonnor shook his head as Lizzie giggled. Lizzie leaned closer, going to scratch the Pokémon under her chin.

"Hey…she bites…" Bonnor trailed of as the Eevee growled at the girl and moved away, and Liz ignored the comment to sidle close to the Pokémon again, trying the same thing, and getting the same result. "Well…anyhow. A Pokémon, you say? I've got a few that are good starters around. Kindle's pups, firstly, then there's a Bulbasaur and a couple of Totodiles…" He turned towards a computer on an oaken desk in the corner.

The entire house was furnished with warm polished wood, even down to wooden flooring. It gave the place a warm, cozy feel. There was a dark brown couch that wasn't wooden, but it's color blended well. Lizzie glanced up as he spoke of that, and frowned, glancing down at the Eevee in front of her while Bonnor muttered and pulled up several screens on the monitor. She considered a moment, then scooped up the Eevee and dropped into the couch, as the Pokémon stiffened in surprise. She dared..!

"What 'bout this one, Bonnor?" She set the Pokémon down on the couch before the Eevee had fully recovered from her surprise. The Pokémon immediately plopped down at the furthest edge of it, glaring at the human-child that had dared pick her up.

"What…that Eevee? Nah…she's too wild. She wouldn't listen to a beginning trainer…no offense intended…" He didn't turn from the monitor, scribbling down a few notes before standing. "I've got plenty of other…"

"Why not? You said she bites, but she hasn't bitten me. I think you're just paranoid." Lizzie interrupted him, scooting closer to the Eevee, who bared her teeth at the girl. "She's just doesn't like pokéballs, like you said. So naturally she's suspicious." Lizzie reached out again and rubbed a hand down the Eevee's back. The Pokémon muttered, but made no other protest. "See?"

"Liz…"

"Why not?" Lizzie glared at him. He blinked. "You promised me a choice of any Pokémon I wanted."

"Liz…if you want an Eevee, I've got a couple eggs a day or two from hatching. They'd be a much better…"

"Why does it matter?" Lizzie folded her arms. The Eevee watched, amused. This was prime entertainment.

"It…just…I mean…" Bonnor backed up a pace, flustered momentarily. Then he paused. "Lizzie…it's got nothing to do with mattering. It's just…"

"Fine." Lizzie stood and started for the door. The Pokémon watched her for a moment, then hopped off the couch and followed. "I'll just go then…" She glanced down at the Eevee that was sitting by her ankles, quietly. "She wants to go with me." So there, her expression said.

"She just wants to run out the door when you open it…" Bonnor shook his head, as Lizzie's expression didn't change. "On your head be it, then." He walked over to the desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a pair of items and came over to her. "Here." He held one out to her. "I just got word back last month, and since Stone Town is getting bigger, they agreed that it needed someone to hand out licenses."

Lizzie took the object, blinking at it. "I…" It was a PokéDex, one of the newer varieties. The pokéball design on the front was the clasp to flip the screen up. The case was red, the flip-up screen matte black. In the lower right-hand corner was a small, stylized 'PM' in white. Lizzie flipped it open, blinking. The interior had a numerical keypad and six other buttons below the keypad. On the top was the infrared scanner for recording Pokémon, and there was a pair of ports on the bottom, one for linking to a computer, obviously, the other she wasn't sure of. "Thank you!" She examined it curiously. "What…" She glanced over at Bonnor, and then blinked. "…are you doing?" She quickly revised the question, closing the PokéDex and dropping it into a pocket. Bonnor straightened, having clipped a collar around the evolution Pokémon, and a leash to that.

"Just trying to help…" He sighed, holding out the end of the leash to her. "If you're dead set on this Eevee, and knowing you, you won't force her into a pokéball…which wouldn't help relations anyway…at least keep this around until you're used to each other." The Eevee made her views on the object quite clear, for the cord was already in her mouth and she was chewing industriously, growling. "Promise?" He added quickly, as she opened her mouth to protest.

"I guess…" Lizzie sighed and accepted the leash, and before she or the Eevee could blink, the Pokémon had been scooped up and deposited in her arms.

Bonnor opened the door for her. "Good luck, Liz."

Lizzie stopped again and sighed, staring at the Eevee. They'd been traveling for at least an hour now. Or, at least, trying to travel. "So, if I put you down, you sit there, and if I try carrying you, you complain. Wonderful." The Pokémon eyed her, then started to chew on the leash. Again. "Is that the problem?" Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Jeez, just until we hit Fuchsia, okay?"

The Eevee shot her a look and tugged on the leash, growling. "Mrrvrr..." She shook her head, tugging hard, scrambling backwards. Lizzie watched the Pokémon for a moment, then reached for the Eevee again. The Pokémon dodged out of reach, shaking her head again.

"Tag now? Would you just please…never mind." Lizzie sat down in the middle of the road, crossing her arms and staring back the way they came. "We can just sit here for all I care anymore. Nothing ever goes right." She dug into her pocket and dug out the PokéDex, sighing. "Some Christmas."

She flipped the device open, and stared at it. "Didn't even remember to ask him how this worked." She eyed the buttons on the bottom, then the numerical keypad. "Huh." She pushed a few numbers randomly.

"Invalid number. Please enter an appropriate identification number." Lizzie jumped at the electronic voice of the PokéDex. She stared at it, then pressed '1.' And waited. She eyed the screen as nothing happened. She pushed '1' again, muttering, then again as still nothing happened.

"Number 111. Rhyhorn, the 'Spikes' Pokémon. This Pokémon is easily angered and charges anything it perceives as a threat. It will often forget quickly why it is charging however, and doesn't seem to be bothered by running into even a block of steel. It evolves into Rhydon." A picture of the rocky gray Pokémon appeared on the screen, along with average height and weight, the information that had just been spoken, and a line that read 'Seen: 0; Own: 0.'

Lizzie blinked. "Um." She eyed the screen. "So how would ya see Pokémon number one, then..?"

"Number 001. Bulbasaur, the 'Seed' Pokémon. This Pokémon is part plant, and part animal, leading scientists to…" Lizzie blinked as another picture appeared, this one of a greenish frog-like creature with a bulb on it's back and the 'Dex rattled off it's information.

"…Oh." It had voice activation too, apparently. Useful. She considered the device, and pointed it at the Eevee that was still gnawing on the leash. "And let's see if we can't…" It beeped.

"Number 133. Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Its genetic pattern is unstable, allowing it to evolve into a variety of different types. It was originally believed that Eevee could only evolve through use of the three evolution stones, but recently two new evolutions have been discovered that do not require a stone at all. Little is known about the cause of these two evolutions. Some question the possibility of other evolutionary tracks for this Pokémon. Can evolve into Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon or Umbreon." The picture appeared as well, naturally, and at the bottom, the line read 'Seen: 1; Own: 0.'

Lizzie stared at that. "Why doesn't it list Eevee as 'owned?'"

"Pokémon has not been registered in a pokéball."

"What if the Pokémon doesn't have a pokéball? What if they don't like pokéballs? What if I don't want to put her in one?" Lizzie frowned at the machine.

The Eevee stopped chewing on the leash and eyed the girl and her machine. "Too many parameters. Please rephrase the question."

Lizzie glared at the little computer, and stated the first question again with barely suppressed irritation. Stupid literal computers. "What if the Pokémon in question doesn't like pokéballs?"

"Pokémon not kept in a pokéball can only be registered by a qualified individual."

Lizzie shook her head. Not helping. "Like who?"

"Qualified individuals include any person who can issue a trainer a PokéDex, Pokémon League officials, and registered Pokécenter nurses."

Lizzie sighed and closed the PokéDex. "Thanks, Bonnor." She turned her attention back to the Eevee. "Phooey…let's get moving again. With how I told off my parents, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up listed as a runaway…even better." She scooped the Eevee up again and started walking. "You got a name?"

"Vee." The Pokémon squirmed, trying to get back down again.

"Ohyeah. Even if you did tell me, I wouldn't be able to tell…stupid. Me, not you, I mean…never mind. I'm just…sick and tired of everything going wrong…mebbe I shoulda just listened to Bonnor…you hate me, my parents hate me…everybody hates me."

"Eeveevee." The Pokémon struggled, growling, and snapped at one of her hands.

It was the last straw. "Fine!" Lizzie yanked the color off and dropped the Eevee abruptly. The Pokémon squeaked in surprise, stumbling slightly before catching her balance and staring at the human. "There! Happy?" Lizzie stared at the Eevee for a long moment as the Pokémon stared back. "Just…go then!" And Lizzie turned and fled.

Lizzie kicked at a clump of snow, sighing. "Stupid stupid stupid…" She kicked another clump of snow and glared at a tree. "Run away from home, ignore all the warnings from Bonnor about that Eevee, then just dump her on the side of the road like garbage. Stupid. She didn't deserve it. And I'm sure she's hating me now for it. So what do I do?" She pulled a green striped pokéball out of a pocket and glared at it. "Spend half my savings on getting onto the Safari Zone on Christmas Eve. That's smart."

But then, the other option being running back home and proving her parents right...no way. She dropped the ball back into a pocket and set off again. Now if only she could find a Pokémon. Three hours, and nothing. Not even a Caterpie. But then, a lot of bugs weren't seen much in the winter. Still…it felt almost too quiet.

The trees around here were absolutely huge, many being easily at least twice what she could circle with her arms. And most of them were deciduous oaks and birch, with the occasional maple or pine, so very few that she'd passed would she be able to climb into without help. The snow wasn't even a foot deep, though, so travel was easy, at least. Visibility was rather limited by all the trees, and all the paths twisted and turned seemingly randomly.

Lizzie paused to lean against a tree, staring at the one across from it. It was one of the ones that had branches low enough to be climbed quickly, a rather sturdy small oak tree, trying to figure out if it was the one she'd seen an hour ago. Did it really matter? She sighed and pushed away from the tree, and headed off into the trees again, rounding one of the particularly large ones, and skidding to a halt with a startled squeak.

She found herself standing not five feet from a pair of sharp looking horns, with a pair of beady black eyes beneath them, blinking somewhat bemusedly. _It's gotta be at least as big as Kindle…_ Liz thought irreverently, as she and the Pokémon started at each other for several long seconds. "Ah…heh…"

"AAAAUR!" Lizzie yelped, and scrambled back a pace, scrambling around the tree as the bull lunged forward with a bellow. He thundered past her, tearing through the underbrush like paper.

"Tauros..!" No wonder it was so quiet around here. The bull Pokémon were notoriously short tempered, and she had apparently just ticked this one off. "Crud…" She whirled to search for the Tauros, hands digging into her pockets frantically. Where was he? She froze as she spotted the bull. He'd already turned to face her again.

"Aurrr…" He lowered his horns, pawing at the ground. Liz grimaced, hand closing on one of the Safari balls. She yanked it out and hurled it at him. The Pokémon bellowed and reared back, swinging his head around, knocking the ball aside with one of his horns. He snorted and charged, hooves tearing up the snow and dead leaves underneath.

"Double crud…" Lizzie darted away at a right angle, making for the one tree she'd passed a few minutes ago. She swung around, using the tree as a shield to buy her a few seconds to start climbing. The Tauros didn't stop his charge, ramming into the opposite side and nearly knocked her back out of the tree. As he pulled back, she used the time to scramble up a bit higher, out of reach of his horns.

She clung to the trunk as the bull bellowed and slammed into the tree again. "Stupid Tauros…" She let go with one hand and dug into a pocket. "Go away!" She fished another ball out and hurled it at the Pokémon. The bull snorted, dancing back to avoid the ball. Liz grimaced as he circled the tree, glaring up at her. It looked like he'd be perfectly happy to camp out under the tree and wait for her to climb down. "Great."

Minutes crawled like hours as she and the Tauros engaged in a staring contest of sorts. The bull broke eye contact every so often to ram the tree, and Liz did to scan the area for anything that she might be able to use to get herself out of the situation. Nearly an hour passed. Liz sighed and stared out into the forest, taking her attention off the Tauros and shifting her position to relieve cramping muscles. This was pointless.

*WHAM*

Liz squealed as the tree shuddered, and her grip slipped, nearly knocking her out of the tree. The Tauros, apparently sensing that she was off balance, slammed into the tree again, and again as she scrabbled for a better hold. "AUUR!" The fourth slam finally shook her loose, and she tumbled down with a shriek, landing, of all places, on the back of the Tauros. There was a moment of stunned silence between the pair, and then the Tauros took off, as Lizzie grabbed desperately at the thick ruff of fur to stay on.

Branches whipped past, lashing at her face and arms, trying to claw her off the bull. She buried her face in the thick mane, clinging determinedly, deciding that on him was a safer position than not on him at the moment. Any cuts or bruises she got from the branches and bushes were decidedly better than what he wanted to do.

The Tauros begged to differ however. He skidded to an abrupt halt, and bucked, tearing her grip – and quite a few hairs – loose, sending her flying. She squealed, crashing through a bush and plowing into something soft and rather furry. And warm. It squealed as she slammed into it, but broke the worst of her fall.

Not that it appreciated being a landing pad. Lizzie rolled off the stunned Pokémon, blinking at it as the Tauros bellowed and thundered in her direction. A Venonat. There was no way it would recover in time to avoid being trampled the oncoming hooves. She yanked out a third Safari ball and dropped it on the bug, diving out of the way just in time, as the bull thundered past.

The Venonat was converted into energy and sucked into the ball, which dropped to the ground, trembling for a moment before stilling. The 'captured' ping was lost in the roar of the enraged Tauros. Lizzie scrambled to her feet and grabbed the pokéball, searching for the bull.

He was already turned around and charging her again. She squawked in surprise, trying to dodge out of the way once more. She ducked the horns, but was shouldered aside by the rest of the Pokémon's bulk. She slammed into a tree and clung to it, the wind knocked out of her.

She heard the bull bellow again, but it sounded like it were at one remove, as the world spun around her. She closed her eyes, wincing. That bull was going to flatten her…but nothing happened.

She cracked one eye open warily to see the Tauros facing away from her completely, snorting. What..?

A brown blur shot out of a bush to the Tauros' left and leapt up to latch onto the bull's nose. He reared back with a roar of pain, and Liz realized absently that the previous cry had been much the same. Most of her attention was on the Pokémon clinging to the Tauros' nose, however.

"…Eevee?"


	2. Blackberry Christmas

On to chapter two. Hopefully I'll be able to post at least one chapter a week. The first two are the exception, considering that they are basically the establishment of the character and her Pokémon. Kind of a two-part episode, if you will. Couldn't really write one without doing the other as well.

Anyhow. If I keep going, I'll ramble all day in that vein. Let's just get on with the story shall we? But, first…

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Nintendo, Creatures Inc., WB, etc. does. I do own my original characters, the personalities of their Pokémon, and any original Pokémon that I decide to put in the story. Take them without permission and I will send a horde of angry Tauros after you.

Chapter 2: Blackberry Christmas

"…Eevee?"

Lizzie stared at the warring Pokémon with something akin to disbelief. Couldn't be the same Eevee that she'd gotten from Bonnor…could it? The fur looked to be the same shade of chocolaty brown, but she couldn't think of any reason for that Pokémon to follow her. And by the same token, there was no reason some random Eevee would jump out of nowhere to rescue her. It made no sense.

"Aaauuurr!" The Tauros flung his head back, trying to shake the much smaller Eevee off. The furball clung like a leech to his nose, and he dropped his head down so he could try pawing it off with a forehoof. The Eevee dropped off and scampered clear before the hoof could connect. The pair faced off again.

Lizzie glanced from Pokémon to Pokémon as the bull roared and charged again. The little Pokémon nimbly skittered out of the way and darted in at his flank when he barreled past, nipping at an ankle. The bull reacted almost instantly, kicking at the Eevee. It squealed as it was sent tumbling into the bushes. "NO!" Lizzie started forward, but halted as the infuriated Pokémon whirled to face her and charged again. "Crud…!" She stumbled back a few paces, glancing about for the nearest climbable tree. Dodge this charge and make a break for it…

"Veevee!" Liz stared, thoughts scattered, as the Eevee barreled out of the bushes and again lunged at the bull's nose. The Tauros roared and spun about, skidding to a halt again right in front of her. Liz was sent stumbling in a vain attempt to keep her balance as the bull's shoulder knocked her backwards. Her left foot landed in an impossible snarl of thorns, getting tangled, momentum unchecked. She yelped as she crashed into another bush.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, struggling to pull her ankle free of the tangle, looking about frantically for the Tauros. She stared as it seemed to be engaged in something that almost looked like an absurd dance. After a moment, she realized that he was trying to stomp the Eevee flat. The little evolution Pokémon was nimbly avoiding the larger bull's hooves with ease. Liz finally pulled her leg free and tried to stand, suppressing a yelp as her leg buckled under her.

_Musta twisted it…_ She grimaced, as she realized that her ankle was starting to really hurt. A triumphant sounding bellow from the Tauros snapped her attention back to the battle. He must have hit the Eevee with a glancing blow, stunning it momentarily. Liz squeaked, holding up a hand in a futile gesture as the bull tossed the Eevee aside with a sweep of his horns. The Eevee tumbled through the snow to land a few feet away, and Liz scrambled over, shivering at the sight of red on the white snow. _Oh please don't be dead…_ The Eevee stirred as she reached the Pokémon, struggling to stand up. There was a nasty-looking gash down its left flank, and the right foreleg didn't seem to want to support its – her – weight, but that seemed to be the worst of her injuries.

"AAAUUURR!" Liz looked up as the Tauros reared back and charged towards them. She glanced down at the Eevee as the Pokémon bristled and bared her fangs in a snarl. Neither of them was in any shape to try dodging.

She muttered, digging into her pockets for something, anything to throw at the onrushing Pokémon. If she could hit his bloodied nose, it'd probably stop his charge. That seemed to be a sensitive spot. Her hand closed about a spherical object and she yanked it out, hurling it at the bull as he barreled closer. It nailed the bull squarely, and he drew back with a startled roar.

And then vanished into a flash of red energy. Liz blinked as the Safari ball hit the ground, rolling to a halt inches from her, then wriggled wildly for four or five seconds, stilled, then started wriggling again, though it stilled quickly this time. Silence reigned.

*ping*

Lizzie and the Eevee stared at the ball for nearly a minute, half expecting the Tauros to come bursting back out and attack again. Liz finally reached out and picked the ball up, warily. "Eevee veevee?"

Liz blinked at the Pokémon, then coughed. "I assume you wanna know why I didn't do that sooner, eh? Uh…well…" She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she pocketed the ball. "I…forgot?" The Eevee looked rather put out. "Um…" Liz dug out another pokéball, glancing from it to the Eevee and back. "I can get you to a Pokémon center in this…or not." She started to hold it out to the Eevee, and blinked as the Pokémon reared up and swatted it out of her hand before crumpling back to the ground.

Liz stared at the Pokémon a long moment. "You…arethe Eevee I got from Bonnor…aren't you?" The Pokémon simply gave her an 'are you stupid?' look. Liz sighed. "I take that as a yes. Boy are you prickly." She reached over to retrieve the pokéball and pocket it, digging out the two that held Pokémon. "Why'd you follow me? I didn't give you any good reason to like me."

"Eevee." The Pokémon set to examining her side, ignoring Liz.

"How helpful you are." Lizzie sighed and leaned back against a tree. Anyhow….thanks." She examined the pokéballs, then pressed the release catch on one. The Eevee tensed, then relaxed as a Venonat appeared. "Sorry about that, fella, you can go…just didn't want you trampled." She looked up into the leafless branches overhead, sighing. What a Christmas.

"Veno?" Liz looked down as something tugged on a pant leg. The Venonat was staring at her, curiously. "Veno?" It glanced over at the Eevee, then returned its questioning gaze to Liz.

"Who, her? She's not that bad…just got hit by that Tauros a few times." She glanced over at the Eevee herself. "I take it you're sticking around, then?" Green eyes met brown and Liz shrugged. "I'd like ya to, but I'm not gonna stop you leaving."

They stared at each other a moment more, then the Pokémon made a faint approximation of a shrug. "Vee." Liz took that for agreement, since the Eevee turned back to her side and started licking at the gash.

The Venonat looked back and forth from the two, and finally sat down next to Liz, antennae quivering. "Naat…"

"I take it you're staying too?" Liz snorted, then shook her head. "I need names for you guys….but we'd probably best head for the exit first." She took a look up at the westering sun and stood, clutching at the tree to keep from falling as her ankle again refused to support her wait. "Oww…" The two Pokémon stared at her as she sank back down to a sitting position. "Or not…"

Night was falling quickly, and Liz stared up at the sky, wrapped in the thick wooly blanket she'd dug out of her backpack. She sighed as the blue faded to black, and one star became visible, than another. "Star light, star bright, eh, guys?" Liz gently ruffled the Eevee's fur. She'd done what she could to bandage her own ankle and the Eevee's injury, and the Pokémon had remained in her lap when she was done.

"Nat…" the bug's eyes glowed as it stared up at the stars. Liz chuckled as dug her fingers through the Venonat's fur as well. "Veno!" It squeaked happily.

"Glad you approve," Liz grinned, but the smile faded quickly. "Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for the night, though. Merry Christmas, eh?" She sighed again, running fingers through the Eevee's fur. "Any opinions, Venonat, Eevee?" She paused. "Man, I really wish I knew your names…feels funny calling you by your species. I wouldn't like being called 'human' all the time, myself…" She trailed off, realizing she was rambling. "Sorry."

The Venonat hummed faintly, eyes still on the stars. Liz grimaced. Just how she'd always wanted to spend her holiday, stuck out in the middle of the Safari Zone with a twisted ankle. Why didn't anything ever seem to go right for her? "Vee..?" A paw patted at her chin, gently. She blinked down at the Pokémon in her lap. A pair of worried brown eyes stared up at her. "Eeveevee?"

The paw reached up again and tapped at her nose this time. Liz smiled. "Trying t'cheer me up, Eevee?" She dug her fingers into the fur under the Pokémon's chin and the Eevee purred, stretching her neck out, rather like a cat. Lizzie giggled. "Thanks. You're a lot nicer than you pretend to be, aren't you? Getting to know you's like trying to pick blackberries without getting stuck by the thorns…hey. How's that, Blackberry? Would you mind if I called you that?" The Eevee blinked open one eye at her and sneezed, then rolled onto her back, batting at her hand with her paws. "Don't stop scratching, I take it. Silly…" She glanced over at the Venonat.

It was still staring up at the stars, humming softly. Lizzie cocked her head, listening. It sounded rather familiar. She frowned, staring at the bug. There was no way the fellow could know that song…but it was so close as to be the twin…

Liz stared up at the stars, blinking. Almost, she could hear the faint jingling of bells…it _was_ Christmas Eve…slowly, she began to sing along, softly at first, then louder as she closed her eyes and gave up on trying to figure out what was going on.

"Silent night…Holy night…"

The Venonat softly hummed counterpoint to several more songs, as Liz sang softly. She opened her eyes as she felt Blackberry bristle in her lap and the Venonat broke off with a squeak. She followed their gaze, and blinked. About thirty feet off, a holly bush was glowing faintly. "What..?" she stared at the bush for a long moment, then dug her PokéDex out, flipping it open. The glow vanished.

Lizzie blinked. Was she just imagining things? "Gotta be dreaming…" She glanced down at the PokéDex in her hands, noting that Blackberry had shifted her gaze straight up. Liz blinked, looking up and pointing the PokéDex in that direction almost automatically, just in time to watch some glowing…thing flicker out of existence again.

"Scan incomplete." She glanced down at the device and sighed, turning her gaze out to the forest. This was getting weird.

"Meww?" Lizzie squealed as she found herself staring into a pair of pale blue eyes abruptly. The creature's glow filled the area faintly. Blackberry bristled, growling softly, but burbled into confused silence as the apparition blinked down at her, turning upside down in midair to do so, and giggled.

Liz blinked as the PokéDex beeped. She barely heard its speech as she stared at the Pokémon. "Mew. This Pokémon is believed to have been a very powerful psychic type. Little else is know about this Pokémon other than myths and legends. Its existence is questioned by many." It was a vaguely felinoid Pokémon with soft white fur, tail, back legs and ears tipped in a faint bluish purple. The tail was almost absurdly long, and the hind paws as oversized as the forepaws were undersized. But, since it was floating in mid-air, the size of its paws likely didn't matter.

It seemed amused at the whole situation, glancing from Eevee to girl and back, before flipping upright and chasing its own tail, giggling. Liz glanced down at the PokéDex finally, and raised an eyebrow at the image displayed. It was a hieroglyphic picture of a catlike creature that vaguely resembled the one before her. "Guess it's really rare then." The creature stopped abruptly, staring straight at her, the blue eyes seemingly boring straight through her. Liz stared back, wide-eyed.

"Mewwww!" It back flipped, giggling happily again, tail not quite hitting her face, not quite flicking Blackberry…and it was gone. Liz stared into the darkness for a long time, blinking.

Liz mumbled, burrowing deeper into the blankets as something furry rubbed against her cheek. "Wanna sleep…" Something patted at her face, then something nipped her ear. "Ow!" She sat up, rubbing at her ear and blinked at the blurry brown thing in front of her. A long moment was spent establishing that it was an Eevee. A chocolate brown furred Eevee. Liz closed her eyes.  "Blackberry…"

"Eevee."

"Veno?" Liz glanced over at the bug-type, abruptly realizing it was snowing. And had been snowing for probably an hour or two already, to judge by how much The Venonat was shaking out of his fur. The bug Pokémon stared at her, quietly.

"You're still here, too? G'morning." She looked around the quiet forest. It seemed so peaceful now. She sighed and struggled out of the blanket, leaning against the tree to shake the worst of the snow off it before stuffing it into her backpack again. "Most magical time of the year…hah." Liz shook her head, then paused, glancing down at the Venonat, then off in the direction that she'd seen the holly bush. The bush was there, but it wasn't glowing. "Then again…"

She balanced herself carefully against the tree, trying out her weight on her injured ankle. "Doubt we should just wait for rescuers...they'dve found us by now I think. The entrance was that way…I think." Her ankle throbbed as she put weight on it, but didn't seem inclined to buckle completely. She took a deep breath and carefully stowed her backpack on her shoulders, and picked up Blackberry.

The Eevee snarled a protest as Liz deposited her on top of the backpack. "Hey, would you rather try walking through the snow yourself? I just figured this'd be easier." She held up the Venonat's pokéball and recalled him. She stowed the ball in a pocket, smiling faintly, "And thank you for giving me a chance. Both've you." She limped off through the forest.

It was quickly quite clear that her ankle wouldn't support much weight for very long, however. She found herself making her way from tree to tree to keep from collapsing. "Halloo!!" She paused against a tree, and listened as the cry echoed through the forest. "Hallooo!" Nothing. Maybe making noise wouldn't be the smartest move, but if there were people looking for her, it might help. She hoped.

Several hours passed in this fashion, her pausing to rest every few minutes and call out for anyone who might hear her. She finally slid down the tree she was leaning against into a sitting position, panting heavily. "Gotta rest a bit, 'Berry…cold, 'n tired." She leaned back against the trunk, closing her eyes. Blackberry stirred uneasily, glancing about the forest. It was beginning to snow harder and the Pokémon stirred restlessly as more and more minutes passed, and Lizzie didn't look inclined to go anywhere soon.

"Halloo!" It was faint, but with ears as large as hers, Blackberry had good hearing. "Halloooo!"

There was someone out there! "Vee!" She hopped off of Liz's shoulder, and tumbled into a snowdrift as her leg buckled with a yelp.

"Not gonna be here long…just gotta rest a few minutes, 'Berry." Liz didn't bother opening her eyes. The Pokémon levered herself upright, glaring at the girl.

"Eevee!" Blackberry glanced back as she heard the shout again. Was it getting louder? Or was it quieter? Hard to tell. "Veevee!" She stumbled off in the direction, looking back at Liz again. Liz was blinking at her a bit bemusedly.

"Hallooo!" Liz blinked as Blackberry glanced over her shoulder again. Was that…Lizzie struggled to stand up, clutching at the tree as her ankle once again refused to hold her weight. Liz pushed herself in Blackberry's direction, managing to hop on her good leg to another tree, and clung to that one.

"Not…hearing things…am I?" She glanced down at the Eevee, then scanned the forest. "Hallooo?" She listened to the echoes. "Donno…if they can hear me…" Lizzie sank down into a sitting position again. "Prob'ly not…" She sighed, closing her eyes again. "Prolly 'magining it…" Blackberry glanced back and forth between the faint shouts she could still barely make out, and the girl.

"Vee!" A flick of her tail and the Pokémon bounded off into the forest, moving quickly despite her injuries. Liz stared after the disappearing Pokémon, stunned.

"Wait..! Come back!" She struggled to her feet again, stumbling after the Pokémon. "Blackberry..?"

Blackberry bounded through the forest, injured leg held clear of the ground. One bound carried her into a snowdrift, and the unexpectedly deeper snow disrupted her momentum entirely, causing her to go rump over tail through the drift. She lay where she landed, panting, for a moment, then struggled back to her feet and set off again.

It was almost ironic, this, trying so hard to catch up with a group of humans, not for her own sake, but for a human's sake. She'd never cared much for the race of creatures called humanity, with their arrogant superiority. Getting captured by one of the 'Pokémon Trainers' had not been in her plans.

But once captured, there was little she could do about it. If she ran away, someone else would probably capture her. And this human seemed to at least care about her feelings. There could be worse options for humans. This Lizzie child at least didn't force her to go into one of the distasteful spheres…

And so, this led back to trying to catch up with those other humans to lead them back to the girl. If she'd been told two weeks ago that this was how she'd spend Christmas, she would have laughed. She was almost there…

"Hallooo!!" The large man paused a moment to listen to the echoes fade, then sighed, running a hand through his gray-speckled beard. He pushed on, hiking his jacket tighter around his broad shoulders. There had been people searching for half of the night for the girl, but nobody had found anything. This snowstorm wasn't helping matters, obliterating whatever trail they might have been able to find. So now they just had to keep searching, and hope.

It was possible that she might have made her way out of the Zone, but for the fact that the fence was unbroken, and most of the birds large enough to carry a person had already migrated south. That left the only way out as the main gate, and they would have been notified if she'd come out that way.

"This is ridiculous…who would go out and try to catch Pokémon on Christmas Eve? Kids should be home with their families." He glanced back at the pair in his group as they spoke quietly with one another. They were both half his age, and quite a pair, utterly devoted to each other. They worked well together. 

"Maybe she doesn't have one. Thought of that, Alex?" The girl shook her head, poking a finger at her companion.

"Well…" Alex coughed, running a hand through his pale brown hair. "I guess that could be true, Wren…" He sighed. Alex was a nice enough sort, but didn't tend to look past the obvious right away. He was a good kid though, and his brown eyes showed that he was as worried about this missing child as anyone. "Whatcha think, Rob?" The large man merely shrugged, keeping out of the conversation for the moment.

Wren, his fiancée, thought things through as much as Alex took them for granted. They were rather opposite in many ways, he was tall, she petite, her dark skinned, him pale. She was an expert tracker, and often seemed to have a sixth sense about such things. She brushed her black hair out of her dark eyes, frowning. "Or maybe she was trying to find a specific Pokémon for a present for somebody and this was her last shot at it. There are a lot of possibilities why..." She paused, frowning, and pulled out a pokéball. "D'ya hear that?" Both of the men paused, blinking at her.

A flash of red and a Golduck appeared. Wren glanced around the area as the duck's eyes began to glow. Something's coming. A Pokémon. The Golduck's telepathic voice echoed in the Wren's head as his gaze darted in a quick circle. From that direction…it's an Eevee. There was no mistaking the faint surprise as he added the last part, pointing towards the southeast.

Wren immediately started in that direction, Golduck hard on her heels. The Pokémon's surprise was understandable. Though Eevee's were more common in this area, Evolution Mountain being their native territory, it was rare they'd end up in the Safari Zone. Rob and Alex followed a bit further behind, Alex looking confused, Rob unreadable.

She stopped, glancing down at Golduck as it caught her leg and tugged. It's coming…it's hurt rather badly. Wren frowned, and dug out a pokéball. The Pokémon stumbled into view, and Wren winced faintly at its battered appearance. She hefted the pokéball and tossed it at the Pokémon, blinking as the Eevee snarled and tumbled out of the way of it, staggering back upright to yap at her angrily.

She dug another pokéball out, and the Eevee bristled, but Golduck stepped forward. Wren paused, for the first time noticing that the Eevee's injuries had been bandaged, if inexpertly. "Gol?"

"Vee." The Eevee relaxed slightly. Golduck cocked his head, and the two spoke for several minutes as the humans watched. "Eevee!" The Eevee turned about and bounded in the direction she had come, or at least tried to, tumbling to the ground in a furry heap with an indignant squeak. Golduck hopped over, and reached out cautiously.

"Duck?" The Pokémon considered a moment, then nodded. He picked her up carefully and turned back to his trainer and her companions. She says she has a trainer already, Wren. I think it's the girl you've been looking for, too. Golduck paused, considering. Her trainer's hurt, too, and she came here to get our help. It's not too bad, he added as he darted off down the Eevee's trail, the girl just has some scrapes and bruises, mostly. The real problem is that she twisted her ankle.

Wren sighed with relief, setting off after her Pokémon. "Golduck says he thinks that the Eevee's trainer is that girl we're looking for. She just twisted her ankle bad. This way." Rob and Alex exchanged glances, and tried to catch up.

Lizzie stared in the direction that Blackberry had gone. She had thought the Eevee had wanted to stay with her. Naturally not. She packed up a handful of snow and hurled it in that direction. "Be that way then." Liz glared out into the trees. Some Christmas this was.

At least she knew that there were people out looking for her. Maybe she should try sending out that Tauros…too risky. They'd probably hear him, but she didn't believe he'd listen to her, and didn't trust her odds of being able to recall him before he tried to kill her. Maybe send the Venonat…no, he couldn't move quickly enough. She sighed.

Stupid Eevee. Stupid holidays. Stupid Lizzie, even. She wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her head atop them, closing her eyes. She'd never do anything right.

A crashing sound jarred her out of near-sleep, her eyes snapping open to stare in the direction of the noise. If it was another killer Pokémon…

"Golduck!" A Golduck galloped into view, skidding to a halt as it spotted her. She met its gaze, blinking. You are Elizabeth, yes? We've been looking for you. Lizzie blinked. Had it spoken to her?

Before she'd recovered enough to reply, a woman stepped into view, smiling. "Over here!" she shouted over her shoulder, reaching out to pat the Golduck on his head. "Good job, old friend."

"Eevee!" Liz blinked, only just noticing the brown Pokémon clutched in the Golduck's clawed hands. Blackberry squirmed to be put down, and Golduck obliged, looking amused. The Eevee bounded over to her, tumbling into her side with an indignant squeal.

"Blackberry?" Liz carefully scooped the Eevee up as two more people came out of the trees, "You went to find them? Thanks. I thought…well nevermind what I…you came back." She gave up on trying to make any sense and hugged the Pokémon gently, giggling as she felt the Pokémon's tongue tickling her chin. Maybe things weren't so bad as they seemed, sometimes…she glanced back up at the trio of people. They probably wanted an explanation.

"I…didn't mean to worry anybody, but there was this Tauros an' he didn't like company…" Lizzie trailed off as the lady held up a hand and chuckled, recalling her Pokémon. "I mean it's Christmas and I didn't mean to bother…"

"Can't think of a better Christmas present than friendship," the younger of the two men broke in, as he nodded at Blackberry in her arms, chuckling. "'Cept maybe love." He exchanged a look and a soft smile with the woman. "I'm Alex, by the way," he added, as he reached down to pick her up carefully, "That's Wren, my fiancée. And don't let Rob over there scare ya, he's a good guy."

Wren snorted as Liz squirmed slightly, ill at ease. "And you look before you leap." Wren shook her head, smiling at Lizzie. These three seemed awfully nice. "We heard you had a twisted ankle, Elizabeth, so it'll be easier for you if you don't try to walk, which is why Alex is going to carry you, if that's all right."

"S'all right..." Lizzie relaxed, letting Alex scoop her up.

"Why don't you recall that Eevee you caught, too? She's rather beat up herself." Rob suggested as he turned towards the entrance, and set off. "We'll get you to the Pokécenter in no time."

Lizzie relaxed further, exhaustion winning its battle with her more quickly than she wanted. "Didn' catch her…but she 'cided to stick wi' me 'nyhow…'Berry dun like pokéballs..." Wren touched her arm, interrupting her train of thought.

"Explanations can wait, Elizabeth. Everything can wait. It's all right."

"C'n call me Lizzie…" She mumbled, before sleep overtook her.

                        'Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm sorry for just running off like that, but I had to. I'm sorry. I just can't live the way you want me to. I want to live my own life and do what I really love doing. I didn't mean'

Lizzie paused, staring at the sheet of paper. She sighed and ripped it into little pieces that she dropped into the trash, watching them flutter like confetti to the bottom. She sighed again, and Blackberry cracked an eye open to regard her curiously. Liz stared back, then frowned and returned to another sheet of paper. After a short time she growled in frustration, scribbling over what she'd written.

"Can't get it to sound right." She crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the trash after the confetti-pieces. Blackberry yawned.

"Eevee. Veevee." She hopped up onto the desk and patted Liz's hand with a paw. "Veevee eevee." Liz cocked her head at the Pokémon, and sighed. She couldn't give up her Pokémon, not now, and she wasn't about to give up on her dreams. Avoiding her parents wasn't going to get her anywhere.

She sighed and thought back over the past few days, catching the Tauros and the Venonat, the Mew…she smiled faintly as she leaned back in her chair. That had been something special. Even if it wasn't real. She couldn't decide if she really saw it, or if it was a dream. She didn't want to try and find out yet, either. It didn't really matter either way, anyhow. Did it?

So much had happened. Alex and Wren had invited her over to have dinner with them while she explained what had happened, and before she'd really thought about it, she'd wound up telling them everything. About her parents, running away, Bonnor…

Well, she hadn't mentioned the Mew. If that hadn't been a dream, it was hers alone. Well, her Pokémon's too, but that was it. So maybe not quite everything, but they'd looked a bit concerned over the whole deal, and had tentatively mentioned that it might be good to go back and explain to her parents…at which point she'd run out of their house.

They had been right. And she didn't want to admit it. But she couldn't go back just yet. If she did, her parents would just make her stay home and never allow her near any Pokémon until she was able to move out. And she wouldn't be able to say no. She was tired of fighting over it. So she'd decided to try writing a letter, which she was not getting anywhere with. She sighed.

"Eevee." Blackberry hopped up onto her shoulder, and Lizzie giggled as the Eevee's thick fur tickled the base of her neck. What was it Alex had said earlier…about friendship being a gift? She paused, thinking. Bonnor had given her Blackberry as a gift, trusting in her judgment. And Blackberry had stuck with her despite her being so touchy about things…and then there was that Venonat that forgave for her catching him. And Wren, and Rob and Alex…she wasn't alone.

She had friends.

She grinned, running a hand down the Pokémon's back. "Thanks, Blackberry." She thought a moment, and turned back to the paper, staring at it for a second before writing furiously.

Lizzie handed the envelope over to the center's nurse as she collected her other two pokéballs from her, dropping them into a pocket. She needed to get something better to store them in. "Could I get that sent to Stone Town as fast as possible, please?"

"Certainly. It should be there in two days by Ponyta Express." Lizzie counted out her change, handing over enough to cover the fee, and trotted out of the Pokécenter. "Have a nice day!"

"Well, here goes nothing, eh Blackberry?" Liz pulled out her PokéDex and grinned at it. The nurse had registered Blackberry as one of her Pokémon, when she first came in, so everything was in order. She just had one more thing to do. She pulled one of her pokéballs back out of her pocket, releasing the Venonat. "Hey there." She dropped down to impulsively give the insect a hug as he stared at her. "Just wanted to thank you for giving me a chance, Chance."

"Nat?" The bug's eyes flickered as she stood up, smiling.

"Just a name, if you like it." Liz looked down the road, towards Fuchsia's exit, and grinned. "Since I can't find out your real name, I hope this one's okay." She looked at the Venonat inquiringly. He hummed, nodding slowly. "Alright, then, Chance, Blackberry, let's see what's out there, 'kay?"

                        'Dear Mom and Dad,

            How's it going? I'm doing all right, caught a Tauros and a Venonat already. I met a couple of really nice people in Fuchsia, Wren and Alex. Wren's a Pokémon Trainer, and she showed me some of her Pokémon. Alex is one of the wardens of the Pokémon Reserve by the Safari Zone. They're gonna be getting married in about a year. They even invited me to come. I'm really looking forward to going to it.

            I'm sorry about running away like that, but I can't be what you want me to. I'm not perfect, I hate dancing, and embroidery, and I like being outside and being with Pokémon. I'm not very good at being the lady that you seem to want. I'm not very good at very many things that it seems that you want me to be. This is something I think I can be good at. Please, I wanna be myself, and I wanna train Pokémon. I wish I coulda made you understand, or something, but I'm not that great at explaining, I guess.

            I don't want to stay at home and read about things, I want to live them. I promise I'll write, and I'll call when I can, but please let me do this. It's my dream. I want to meet new people, make friends, and see the world. Don't make me give up my Pokémon. They're my friends. And I don't want to desert my friends. I'm sorry.

I do love you. Hope you understand. Give Bethy a hug for me will you?

                        Lizzie'


	3. Don't Bug Me!

Whee. On to chapter three. And finally we get to meet my other major OC, Cameron! *grins* Lizzie catches more Pokémon, and finally gets around to calling people. She's bad about that. Heh. But, like most trainers, she makes her way to Pewter to try and begin collecting badges. This picks up about three weeks after the last chapter.

Oh, and for reference when I use some things, here's a little key:

Pokémon speech is in brackets, telepathy is in double brackets, and personal thoughts are in _italics_.

I hope that helps.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Nintendo, GameFreak Inc., WB and a lot of other people do. I do own Lizzie, Cameron, their Pokémon's personalities, and any original Pokémon that show up. Please do not take them without permission or I will drop a nest of evolving Kakunas on your doorstep.

Chapter 3: Don't Bug Me!

Lizzie shaded her eyes against the sunlight, blinking away the light-dazzle the abrupt glare had left her with. Once her eyes had adjusted, she stepped out of the cave, casting a disgusted look back at it. "Easier my foot. Stupid people." She patted the purple-furred insect beside her, belatedly. "Thanks, Chance, that sonar trick of yours helped."

The Venonat hummed softly in acknowledgement, and she recalled him with a faint smile, pocketing the pokéball. Her hand brushed against two others and she snorted. At least the trip through the cave wasn't a total loss. She'd caught a Geodude while wandering aimlessly in the dark. Not a single trace of a Clefairy though, for all the rumors she'd heard. And in the dark, a Moonstone would seem just the same as any other rock she tripped over. So much for Mount Moon.

Lizzie sighed and turned down the path leading away from the cave, making for the Pokécenter just in view. Daylight or no, she'd been in those caves for far too long. Both she and her Pokémon definitely needed the rest. And a bed would be very welcome.

Or anything that was at least vaguely bedlike. Rocks were a poor substitute.

 Liz stared at the monitor, sighing. _Well, here goes nothing._ She picked up the phone and punched in the numbers. Three rings, then the screen flickered to life. "Lizzie!" Bonnor's eyebrows rose in pleased surprise. "Haven't heard hide nor hair of you since you left. Was beginning to wonder."

"Sorry…I didn't mean to worry you…just didn't have much to say." Liz brushed her bangs out of her eyes shrugging. "Just been…traveling mostly."

Bonnor snorted. "It's been nearly three weeks, and you've just been traveling? Haven't seen any Pokémon from you yet. Caught anything? How's that Eevee working out?"

Blackberry poked out of Liz's backpack to glare at the screen. "Vee." Liz giggled as the Pokémon clambered out onto her shoulder with immense dignity.

"Still doesn't like me, I take it." Bonnor snorted. "So, that answers one question." He paused. "I think."

Liz sniggered again, but stifled it quickly. "Blackberry 'n I've reached an…understanding, I guess. It works. Been taking buses, mostly, from Fuchsia to Cerulean…an' I was stuck in Fuchsia 'till my ankle was better…"

"Whoa…your ankle? What did I miss?"

Liz coughed. "Well…I went to the Safari Zone…an' there was this Tauros, and…well…I did catch him, I'm calling him Bullseye…but he didn't like me much…still doesn't actually…" The words came out in almost a rush.

Bonnor stared at the screen, almost bewildered, and broke in. "Whoa, slow down! Could you run that by me again? A Tauros? Safari Zone? When did this happen?"

"Sorry…" Lizzie took a deep breath and sighed. "I went to the Safari Zone on Christmas Eve 'n caught a Tauros 'n a Venonat, but in avoiding getting murdered by Bullseye I twisted my ankle and wound up staying there overnight." Lizzie looked down at the base of the screen for a moment, trying to keep from flushing with embarrassment.

"You were stuck in the Safari Zone overnight, on Christmas Eve? Who's Bullseye? Why did you go in the Safari Zone?" Bonnor stared at the screen taken aback. "What did your parents have to say?"

Liz winced at the last, and shrugged. "I didn't think Blackberry wanted to stay with me so I thought I could get a Pokémon there to start with instead...but since she kept Bullseye, the Tauros I was talking about, from squishing me, I think I thought wrong." She avoided the last question entirely.

Bonnor closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead, and sighed. "You are something else, you know that?" Lizzie blinked, and decided to take that as a compliment. "What else happened? Anything else interesting?" Liz opened her mouth to reply, then paused.

…a holly bush was glowing faintly…she found herself staring into a pair of pale blue eyes abruptly. The creature's glow filled the area faintly…stopped abruptly, staring straight at her, the blue eyes seemingly boring straight through her…"Mewwww!" It back flipped, giggling happily again, tail not quite hitting her face, not quite flicking Blackberry…and it was gone…

"...No…no, not really. Just got rescued by some nice folks. They invited me to come to their wedding." Liz shrugged, shoving the dream – memory – aside. "Wren 'n Alex. And Rob too, but he's not getting married. I think he's already married, actually." Liz shrugged. "Then took the bus to Cerulean 'n got lost in the Mount Moon Caverns for not quite a week…"

"So you're in Pewter?" Bonnor interrupted, almost eagerly.

Lizzie blinked. "Not yet…I stopped at the center outside Mount Moon, and was gonna head there tomorrow…why?" Now she was curious, because he looked quite pleased about…something.

"Oh…nothing much, just make sure to stop in at the Pokécenter when you get in." He grinned. "So, just caught the two Pokémon, then? Venonat and Tauros?"

"No, I caught a Geodude in Mount Moon too…hey!" Lizzie glared at him. "Don't change the subject like that! What're you going on about? What's at the Pokécenter? Bonnor…" It wasn't quite a whine.

"That'd spoil things. Let me know when you get to Pewter! Good luck, and talk to ya soon, Lizzie!"

"Bonnor..!" She blinked as the line disconnected. "He…he...phooey!" Lizzie fought the urge to slam down the receiver, and stalked over to the counter. The nurse looked curiously at her as she handed over the three pokéballs.

"Something wrong?"

Lizzie shook her head and sighed. "No, just going to head to bed for the night. Been a long day." She made her way down the hall and flopped onto the bunk she'd been given. Blackberry curled up onto the pillow next to her, looking curious. "Sometimes grownups make me so mad…telling ya just enough t'make ya know something's up, then refuse t'tell ya 'bout it."

The Pokémon yawned. "Eevee?"

"Well…if it's a surprise, I guess he wouldn't tell me about it…but it's still frustrating." Lizzie had begun to get a general idea of what Blackberry meant when the Eevee spoke up. Or at least, she liked to think she did. Mostly, she just answered her own questions with what seemed logical. "But that just means we'll hafta get t'Pewter in a hurry in the morning. 'Sides, sitting here and trying to figure it out isn't gonna get anywhere." She yawned. "An' I'm tired…so I'll stop talking on and on at ya, Berry."

She didn't bother changing out of her clothes, only removing her hiking boots and letting them tumble onto the floor before curling up under the blanket. "G'night…"

Blackberry watched Lizzie curl up and snorted. Humans were strange sometimes. "Vee." She yawned and dropped her head to her forepaws. Why worry about tomorrow until it got here?

Liz grimaced as she looked around the city, trying to find the Pokécenter. Stone, stone, and more stone. Gray, gray and more gray. It was almost depressing. "I think whoever designed this place had no creativity." Blackberry, draped around her shoulders, opened one eye to look at her, then the nearest buildings, before snorting softly and closing it again.

"Fine, be that way." Lizzie rounded a corner and blinked. Red roof. "Found the Pokécenter…" She sighed and made her way over to the building. The bells above the door jingled merrily, in counterpoint to her less that cheerful mood. She headed straight up to the counter, standing on tiptoe to peer over the counter to try and spot the nurse. "Hello?"

The door to the back popped open, and the nurse stepped into view. "Oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't hear the door chimes. What can I do for you?" She was a young lady, perhaps mid-twenties, with light brown hair cropped short. Her gold-brown eyes matched well her ready smile. She stood at least a foot and a half taller than Lizzie, but immediately leaned against the counter so they were looking eye to eye. The nametag pinned to her blouse read Wendi.

"Um, I was told by a friend to stop here when I got into town, but I don't really know why…" Lizzie shifted uneasily as she tried to both meet the nurse's gaze and avoid it at the same time. Cheerful seemed to be the name of today.

"Perhaps they shipped something here for you. If you give me your trainer's license, I can check for you." She tilted her head, adding, "When you're out training, it's easier to have stuff shipped to a center that they're likely to be going to in the near future, so that they can get it faster."

"Oh…um…" Lizzie dug into her pockets, "here." She pulled her PokéDex out and handed it over to Wendi, dropping her gaze to the counter. She was going to kill Bonnor when she saw him again…

"Thank you. Let's see…" Wendi flipped the PokéDex open, pressing a button.

"I am Dex, Pokémon Index for Trainer Elizabeth Gimble of Stone Town. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced." The nurse nodded at that and handed it back, still smiling.

"There is a package here for you, Elizabeth. It came in a couple weeks ago, actually." She ducked under the counter as Lizzie blinked then leaned forward, trying to see over the counter.

"There is? I do?" Lizzie blinked as Wendi reappeared, plunking a box in front of her. "What is it?"

Wendi laughed. "Why don't you open it and find out?" The nurse waved towards the booths set about the center. "You could take it over to one of them if you'd like, it doesn't matter. Anything else?"

"…" Lizzie took the package, staring at it instead of the friendly woman. "Where's a store? And the Gym?" She looked up, almost reluctantly.

"The Gym's right across the street in that building, there, but the Gym leader is on vacation at the moment. There's a mart that sells Pokémon supplies is one block down Boulder Street." She indicated the building in question, then pointed in another direction. "Boulder's about a block that way. First road you'll come to. I hope that helps."

Lizzie risked another glance. She still had that smile on her face. "Thanks…" She bowed awkwardly, and hurried to the booth nearest the door, dropping the box onto it. She studied the return address, and frowned. It was from Bonnor all right. What could he have sent her?

She peeled the tape off carefully, and lifted the lid, peering inside. An oddly shaped bundle was nestled in the box, wrapped in brightly colored Christmas paper, an envelope slid between it and the edge of the box. She stared at it a moment, then all but dove for the package, tearing it open. The envelope was barely even noticed. Blackberry hopped onto the table, watching the proceedings with interest.

They both stared at what had been under the paper. It was a hat, baseball cap variety, pale beige. Lizzie pulled it out of the box and the paper by the brim, blinking. On the front, instead of some team logo, there was a beautiful hand-stitched picture in vivid orange, black and white. It was an Arcanine, seated facing forward, staring at the viewer with bright green eyes. The ears were pricked alertly, the body bright orange-red striped with black. The thick white tail curled around the powerful haunches.

It was absolutely gorgeous. And so like Bonnor's Kindle that Liz could hardly believe it. "Wow…"

"Vrreh…" A head butted her elbow, and she blinked down at the table. Blackberry held up the envelope, tail swishing.

"Ohyeah." She took the envelope, setting the hat carefully on the table, where the Eevee sniffed curiously at it. She opened it and pulled the card inside out. The front was a picture of a pretty winter scene, with 'Wishing you the best of Holidays' written across the bottom. She opened it, blinking.

            'Heya Liz,

            Forgot to give this to ya before you left. Considering the rest was your birthday present, this is your Christmas present. Yes, that is supposed to be Kindle. Got my sister to make it for me. She can do the impossible with a needle and thread, it seems. Best wishes, and good luck kiddo!

                        Merry Christmas

                                    Bonnor'

Liz read the note several times before closing the card and sitting down, staring at the hat. Blackberry hopped back onto her shoulders, curiosity satisfied as Liz stared at the cover of the card. Minutes passed, and she finally grew impatient. "Eevee!" Blackberry batted at the girl's nose. Lizzie blinked, turning her attention to the Eevee. "Vee." The Pokémon looked pointedly at the door.

"Oh. Sorry…" Lizzie gathered up the packaging and tossed it into the trash bin, stowing the card in her pack. She stared at the cap a moment before picking it up and heading back out the door. She paused out side, and carefully slipped the hat on, tugging her ponytail through the hole in the back. "Thanks, Bonnor…"

Not that he could hear that. She looked at the building that Nurse Wendi had pointed out as the Gym and sighed. "On vacation, eh…well, let's at least see if we can't find that store, at least."

"Well, whatcha think?" Lizzie finished buckling the belt on and studied it carefully. It made it easier to find her pokéballs when she needed them, if nothing else. Blackberry, from her seat in the snow, merely blinked at her. She'd headed towards the Viridian Forest south of town as soon as she'd finished making her purchases at the store. A couple of potions to heal her Pokémon in an emergency, the belt, a small, light, weatherproof tent, a few camping supplies and a heavy-duty flashlight. She'd had enough of dark places.

And she wasn't about to spend a day in that center with the too cheerful nurse if she could avoid it.

With that thought firmly in mind, she shrugged as Blackberry remained silent, giving up on the attempt at conversation and set about trying to figure out how to set up the tent. It took her nearly an hour, but the task was finally accomplished. "There. Look good to you, Blackberry?" She turned to the Eevee, inquiringly. To find herself staring at snow. "Gueh?" A quick search of the clearing revealed that Blackberry wasn't anywhere in sight. "Blackberry?" Silence. Liz sighed. "Of course. Go ahead and explore without me."

"Eevee!"

"Not like I have anything better to do than try to set up tents…or that I was hoping…" Lizzie paused as the fact that Blackberry was actually there, tugging on her pant leg, registered. "What? Blackberry?" She stared at the Eevee as Blackberry growled, shaking her head, and incidentally Lizzie's pant leg, and tugged again. "You want me to come with you, I take it."

"Vee." Blackberry let go and bounded a few paces away. Lizzie folded her arms, glaring. "Eevee!" The Pokémon glared back, then dashed off again.

"I…wait!" Lizzie rolled her eyes and went after her companion. She caught up quickly, Blackberry waiting for her before darting off again. "This had…better be…" Lizzie staggered as she rounded a tree and nearly tripped over the Eevee, "…good…" She staggered to a halt, staring at what the Eevee had found.

It was an egg.

Back at camp, Lizzie set her pack down beside the fire she'd gotten started, peering inside to check the contents. "You sure we shoulda brought this back with us?" The egg had been not quite cool to the touch when she'd picked it up at Blackberry's insistence. The top half was a bright yellow, the bottom half jet black, joined together at an uneven jagged line. She couldn't imagine why it'd be all alone in the middle of nowhere. "I mean won't its parents be pissed about it being gone?"

"Eevee."

"You think its parents are gone?"

"Vee." The Pokémon nodded solemnly.

"Are you sure?" Lizzie looked dubious. The Eevee curled up by the pack and closed her eyes and the girl sighed. "Fine. Nevermind. But if a horde of angry…whatever that's an egg of, comes rampaging through, I'm blaming you." She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and stared into the fire moodily.

The silence stretched out until Liz couldn't take it anymore. She stood and shook the snow off her blankets and kicked a good deal more over the fire. She didn't want to accidentally set the forest, or her tent, on fire by not watching it. The flames hissed and flickered madly, dying down reluctantly. She muttered and tossed more snow onto it. Reluctantly, it died to embers, then to faintly glowing coals.

"G'night." She tossed one last handful of snow onto the embers and grabbed up her pack and slipped into the tent. Blackberry stretched and followed her trainer inside with a yawn, disappearing onto the backpack as soon as Liz set it back down. "What, gonna sleep in there tonight?" Lizzie peered into the bag, studying the bundle of brown and white fur curled around the egg.

She shook her head and curled up next to the pack, buried under a small pile of blankets. "See you in the morning…"

Morning came quickly, and Lizzie was only vaguely surprised by the fact that no angry parent Pokémon had come to try and get their egg back. She took the tent down, sighing as it came down much more easily than it went up, and stowed it in her pack. She needed some way to earn some cash pretty soon.

"Well, let's get going, Blackberry." Lizzie paused long enough to make sure the egg was safely stowed in the pack before hefting it onto her shoulders. "Oof! Need to find some other way to carry stuff." She settled the pack on and glanced around the clearing, and pointed in a random direction. "That way looks good, don'tcha think?"

Blackberry looked at her oddly. "Vee…" Deep misgivings on her part, but the girl ignored them and set off in her chosen direction. Blackberry stared after Liz for a moment, then sighed and trotted after her trainer.

Lizzie looked around the forest, humming quietly to herself. It was better than walking in the absolute silence of the sleeping forest, at least. There wasn't even a wind to stir the leafless branches. Everything was covered in white, the dark tree trunks and branches contrasting so sharply as to look black. "Eerie." Liz finally commented, pausing and looking around the forest. "Not even a Pidgey or something. Didn't think it got this dead in winter."

Blackberry considered Liz's words and eventually gave the closest approximation to a shrug she could manage. "Eevee." Liz turned in another slow circle, searching the forest. Black and white, black, white, white and pink, black…pink?

Liz stared at the spot of pink in the middle of everything, and slowly made her way in that direction. "Wha..?" She stopped beside a rather small tree, staring at the pink spot on a patch of snow it its lower branches.

Then the 'snow' began to move. "Gueh…" The pink spot was apparently an eye, as the creature turned to peer down at her. "C-Caterpie?" Lizzie stared. It was indeed the bug type, but it wasn't any ordinary bug type. It was white, not green, and its faceted eyes were pale pink, not red. That was what had attracted her attention in this black and white forest.

"Cada…" It stared back down at her and Lizzie frowned. Bug Pokémon usually hibernated through the winter. Why wasn't this one? It had to be freezing. And it'd probably starve too. She pulled out a pokéball and tossed it at the caterpillar, watching as the bug was sucked inside. The ball tumbled to the ground and it wriggled for a few seconds, then stilled, the red 'capture' light flashing on with a faint *ping*. Lizzie nodded to herself. There. Better than letting it starve to death in the middle of winter. She scooped the ball up and turned north, planning to head back to Pewter and ask that Nurse about this Caterpie and her egg, even if it meant she'd have to put up with the overly cheerful personality.

"That was my Pokémon! Give it back!" Lizzie yelped and spun around, clutching the pokéball tightly, to find herself practically nose to nose with a boy about her age. She stumbled back a step with another startled cry as Blackberry bounded forward to growl softly at him.

He was a couple of inches taller than she was, at least, with scruffy light brown hair that wasn't quite shoulder length. His dark brown eyes glared at her as he held out a gloved hand. His clothes looked to be of hand-me down quality, patched and somewhat frayed around the edges. "Hand it over! I saw it first!" He took a pace forward.

Lizzie finally recovered from her surprise. "Seeing 'n owning aren't the same thing at all. If you saw it first, why didn't you just go and catch it first, too?" How dare he insist that she give him a Pokémon that she had caught! She glared right back, pointedly shoving the pokéball into a pocket as she took a step back to counterpoint his move forward. "I didn't see your name on that Caterpie. Just who do you think ya are?" The boy didn't answer immediately, folding his arms over his chest. They glared at each other for a long moment, then he spoke.

"Angel."

"Angel?" Lizzie blinked at him. "Izzat…" She stopped dead as something dropped out of the tree to his shoulder, then bounded from there to the ground in front of him. Blackberry quickly darted in front of her, growling warningly. "…your Pokémon's name." She frowned at the small Pokémon.

It was another Eevee. It stood taller than Blackberry by three or four inches, and insofar as she could tell it was a male. He was several shades lighter brown than her Eevee's chocolate, and he had a pair of white socks on his forepaws and a tail-tip to match the white ruff. He merely stared at Blackberry dispassionately. The boy flicked out a hand, and with no more warning than that, Angel attacked.

Blackberry dodged to the side with a snarl, paws digging into the snow, sending a spray of white at the other Eevee. Angel darted past nimbly, tail smacking Blackberry's face tauntingly. The smaller Pokémon snarled and gave chase. "Eevee!!"

"Vee." Angel spun about abruptly and tackled Blackberry, who yelped and sank her teeth into his shoulder. The two tumbled apart, circling each other, snarling softly. Angel barely seemed to notice his shoulder, as a few drops of blood began to stain the snow.

Lizzie stared after the two Eevees, then whirled back to the boy. "What is it with you?! Call your Eevee off Blackberry!" He held out a hand. Lizzie glared and shoved it away. "You…I caught it, so it's mine!" They glared.

"I saw it first, kid. Hand the bug over." He took a pace forward, trying to grab hold of her wrist.

"You're the same age as me!" Lizzie glared indignantly. "Name's Lizzie, pal. If you'd caught that Caterpie when you saw it it'd be yours. No ifs ands or buts." Lizzie backed away a few paces, as the boy advanced. "Since you didn't and I did, that means that it's my Pokémon!" She ducked aside as he lunged abruptly, and quickly released another of her Pokémon. "Geodude!"

The rock-type appeared in a flash of red between them, and the boy halted his second attempt, glaring first at it, then at her. "I saw it first. First come first serve. It's mine," he snapped, trying to go around the Geodude and halting as it raised a fist menacingly. "Call it off."

"Call off yours first, pal. You weren't making your clai…"

"Cameron."

Lizzie blinked, thrown totally off topic. "…Gueh?"

He glared at her. "My name is Cameron. We aren't 'pals.'"

"No kidding," Lizzie muttered. She returned to the subject, shaking her head. "Just quit it with the that was mine stuff, okay?" She folded her arms across her chest, glaring over her Geodude, who was now busily packing up a small pile of snowballs. "I caught it, and that's final."

Blackberry darted to the side as Angel tried sending a spray of snow in her direction. She lunged, trying to catch the other Eevee before he recovered from that attack. No such luck, Angel was ready for her, Lunging to meet her. He dropped low, snapping his jaws at one of her forelegs. She skidded to a halt and leapt back with a startled yelp, barely avoiding the attack. Angel followed up immediately, plowing into her and sending her sprawling into a snowdrift. She struggled to get back up, squealing as a heavy weight shoved her back into the snow.

Cameron glanced over at the squeal and shrugged as Lizzie followed his gaze. "If you want the bug that bad, then, I'll have the Eevee instead. Fair trade."

"What..hey…you can't..!" Liz glanced from the Eevees to Cam and back. Blackberry was pinned by the larger Angel, half buried in a snowdrift. The larger Eevee had his teeth buried in the side of her neck, half choking her. "Blackberry!" Lizzie lunged after Cameron, but froze at the strangled cry of her Pokémon as Angel ground his teeth in deeper.

"I wouldn't move unless you want him to kill her." Cameron paused, raising an eyebrow. "'Sides, it's your choice."

Lizzie stared at him. "What..? What choice?" She forced her hands to remain at her sides, though she couldn't stop from balling them into fists. She wished she could wipe that superior expression off his face… "Blackberry's mine!"

"Not anymore…unless you want to deal." Cameron made his way back over, stopping in front of her, eyes narrowing.

"Deal?" Lizzie glared up at him.

"Yes." Cameron folded his arms across his chest. "A deal. It's your choice. One or the other." Lizzie stared at him. He held out a hand. "Easy enough, I'd think. You give me that bug…or I get the Eevee."

I don't normally do postscripts, and I don't plan to regularly, but I figured I should explain how I view the Pokémon world. I just can't quite accept the reality of a bunch of women who aren't even technically related (Sister-in-laws are related only by marriage, and the cousin of said sister-in-law isn't even related at all. Feh.) to each other all somehow going into the exact same profession and looking exactly the same and with the exact same name. Sorry Joy and Jenny. Can't suspend disbelief enough to accept ya. Thus, that is where Wendi comes from. Random name, random Nurse-type.

I also view the Gyms as being set up somewhat like in Ono Toshihiro's mangas. Where they are each a specific step you have to take to reach the League. Pewter being level 1, Cerulean being level 2, and so forth. You can't try for the next level until you beat the previous level. Or something very akin to that. So that's how come Lizzie headed for Pewter to try and get a badge instead of trying to find Koga/Janine's Gym in Fushia.

I may do other postscripts, if I feel the need to clarify other things. Feel free to ask me about anything I may confuse you with, as well, and I'll try my best to answer it. Till next time..ja ne!


End file.
